This invention relates to electric heating units of the type used in range tops or stove tops, and more particularly, to an integrated radiant heating unit which can be used as a modular heating element equivalent of a conventional tubular heating unit, as well as for incorporation in new cooking appliance designs.
Conventional electric stoves are equipped with one or more (usually four) tubular, coil top cooking units housed in a maintop. Some of the units are designed for one wattage rating, and other of the units have a different rating. The units are independent of each other with each unit being a plug-in unit. That is, each unit can be separately removed and replaced without effecting any of the remaining units. The portion of the maintop about each heating unit is typically a raised surface so pots and pans placed on a cooking unit are supported slightly above the range top surface.
Radiant heating elements are also known in the art. Some stoves are equipped with these types of units rather than the tubular coil top units discussed above. Stoves employing radiant heating units are glass top units. That is, the heating units are supported beneath a sheet of glass and heat produced by a unit radiates onto the bottom of the utensil placed on top of the glass. The glass typically 4 mm. thick and the glass top is, for example, a 20".times.30"(51cm.times.76cm) sheet. A cooking utensil placed on the top of the glass (which is generally level with the rest of the range top) is heated by the heat transferred through the glass to the bottom of the utensil. A specific disadvantage of this arrangement is that the cooktop glass, if and when broken, needs to be replaced as a whole unit. Individual radiant elements also have to be mounted specially and may require special skills or a service call from a professional to replace them. In addition, there are other heating units which are built with a glass cover above a tubular, coil type heater. However, such heaters require a relatively long time to heat up, and their operation is relatively inefficient.
It would be advantageous to have a modular radiant heating unit that can be handled "independent" of the other units. It is also very desirable to have a unit whose operation is energy efficient at all levels of power input settings on the controls.